Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
by Lyuna
Summary: This life meant freedom, a freedom the city could never provide them with. St. Rudolph Cowboy AU


This was written for the StRudy fic exchange over at livejournal, for crowitched.  
Also, since it is set in the American wild west times I used first names only. Yes, that happened on purpose. :p

Also, stole my line breaks, and I can't fix it somehow DX This ain't cool

* * *

The sun was blazing down on them mercilessly, no trees anywhere nearby to provide badly-needed shelter. Life out here was dangerous. Yoshirou knew, but it was all they had. A harsh life, every day living in danger of cattle getting lost, or being stolen; every day wondering if they would make it, knowing that every encounter with bandits could be their last. Yet at the same time this life meant freedom, a freedom the city could never provide them with.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yoshirou turned his head, regarding the boy beside him for a moment. And that's what he was, a boy. Short, puny, with skin far too white that one wouldn't think he had been a rancher for more than a year now. It didn't matter much that Ichirou was roughly his own age, even the less than friendly encounters that they'd had with cattle thieves had done little to change his somewhat naïve outlook on life. But no matter, he was as hard a worker as each of them and he was not going to fault the boy for keeping some faith.

He grinned, then, taking the blade of grass he'd been chewing on out of his mouth.

"The night I spent with Ruth and Rosemary, of course."

Oh, did he love making the boy blush.

---

The cool air of the bar hitting his face as he entered was a stark contrast to the heat he'd been riding through just before. A change not entirely unwelcome, although the smoke that fogged up the room nearly made him cough every time he went there. It never seemed to lessen either, not even now at noon, when barely anyone was out to get drunk yet.

Atsushi grimaced, taking his usual place at the bar where Hajime was busy trying to wipe dried filth off – a pretty useless plan, he figured; the stuff had been on there for years, and he was surprised it hadn't come alive.

"I'll have the usual."

He didn't even have to look up to know that Hajime was wearing his I-know-some-thing-you-don't-but-I'm-not-telling-just-yet smile. Which would be a good thing, really, if not for the fact that whatever information he had generally turned out useless in the end. But it was his only means to information. Wherever else he asked questions it ended with shut mouths and averted looks. Information was too pricey these days.

The ice clinked in the glass when Hajime set it down in front of him, the smell of alcohol itching in his nose. What itched more was how dependent he had become on Hajime. His only way to information, yet at times the man could be insufferable enough for Atsushi to want to just give up on his search. But he couldn't do that. Hajime was the price he would have to pay if he ever wanted to see his brother again.

He gulped down some of the whiskey, only then looking up at the other man. Insufferable, but helpful if he wanted to be.

"There were rumors."

Rumors of Yuuta asking for a man with a red ribbon tied around his forehead, rumors of Hajime having asked for him personally, even. And Hajime never let rumors leak if he didn't want them to be heard. He watched as the corners of the other man's lips quirked up into a tiny, genuine smile. Apparently his assumptions had been correct.

"Why, Atsushi, I never took you for one to believe in people's talk."

The only trouble was getting Hajime to admit it, but he was practiced at that by now.

---

"I don't get why he wants to find his brother so much."

Yuuta had entered the salon not long after Atsushi left, but Hajime was sure the other man had been waiting outside for a good while longer. Waiting and listening. That was what he had taught him after all, when he had taken Yuuta in: to listen quietly and filter out whatever information he needed.

"Yes, I am sure you wouldn't understand."

Hajime laughed quietly, the indignant expression on the other's face feeding his amusement. It wasn't that Yuuta hated his own brother, but he had run away from a family that was expecting the same brave deeds from him as from the ever perfect sheriff Syuusuke Fuji. Really, he could understand why Yuuta didn't want to see his brother again. Yet at the same time he knew why Atsushi was so desperate to find out what had happened to Ryou.

But he was surprised the man hadn't given up yet. America was large, much larger than the countries their grandparents had come from if you could believe the tales. It would be almost a miracle to find someone here, even with an information network as big as his own. Still, was it really alright leaving Atsushi to his own devices? After all, the trail Yuuta had found this time seemed more reliable than any of the previous ones, and if it were true... Sure, the man was not one to be reckless, but who knew what years of fruitless searching would do to his rationality.

"Yuuta, I think you should accompany him for a while."

"Please." Hajime added when Yuuta grimaced.

He did not like letting Yuuta leave. He was far better company than any of his other workers; he would even go so far as to say he _liked_ Yuuta. The man was the only one he had trained himself, and somehow Hajime had even grown close to him. But he did not want anything happening to Atsushi either, and he knew Yuuta could take care of himself and others rather well.

---

Catherine was way too pretty, Takuya decided. The woman was older than him, he knew that, but she certainly didn't look like it. And gods, was she beautiful.

Yoshirou was sure to throw a fit again for him sneaking off, but what did it matter when he could watch Catherine all day long? The way she scolded the children when they didn't listen to her and the way her brows quirked while she frowned was absolutely enticing. But what was more, her smile was brighter than the sun, warming his heart with a single glance. Oh, he would have loved to have Catherine as a teacher when he was still a child.

Maybe he should just talk to her someday, instead of watching. Maybe she would even like him too! But then Yoshirou would have a second fit, because he wouldn't want a woman taking priority over his duties as a cowboy. Thinking of that, wasn't he supposed to take the first watch this evening?

Takuya yelped, scrambling. Yoshirou was going to _kill_ him.

---

"How nice of you to join us, Atsushi. I almost thought you'd gone and gotten yourself killed."

Yes, Yoshirou was definitely not the most tactful person, especially when pissed off, Ichirou concluded. Granted, Takuya skipping guard duties in favor of spying on Catherine was a valid excuse to get mad at him, but they already knew Atsushi came and went as he pleased anyway, so it was no use getting angry over it anyway. Especially seeing how the man just shrugged and rode straight past Yoshirou.

Not like _that_ was anything new.

Ichirou almost had to roll his eyes at the other man when he put a hand on Yoshirou's arm, tugging ever so slightly – but it was enough to make him turn around.

"Don't you think you should be a little more lenient with him?"

And then he almost had to snort when the other man looked at him as if he had grown a second head. Granted, he did not speak up often, but it just wasn't _right_ to get cross with Atsushi when he was already this desperate. At least Ichirou thought he must be, with all those years of fruitless searching.

"I've already been plenty lenient."

Yoshirou grumbled back at him, but Ichirou was sure the other knew he was right, seeing how the bite was almost completely gone from his tone. It amazed him how he seemed to be able to calm the usually so hot-tempered man down with just a few words, but he certainly was not complaining. Being able to keep him in check had its perks, especially when the other man himself did not seem to realize it.

"He always comes back after all."

If he didn't then yes, Yoshirou would have every right to be angry. But as it was, Atsushi was their source of information as they themselves rarely had time to pay a visit to Hajime. It had saved their hides – and their cattle – quite a few times, knowing where the thieves were moving around and enabling them to catch or avoid them. Besides, who else was going to calm Shinya down when he was getting exceptionally loud again?

---

"You're looking gloomy, Atsushi!"

The addressed snorted, idly playing with the ribbon tied around his forehead. It just figured Shinya would come over as soon as he had time. No one liked to talk to Atsushi when he was sitting around alone, snickering to himself – that was, except for Shinya. The man wouldn't even have the tact to stay away if he was _actually_ being gloomy. He leant back on his hands and looked up at Shinya, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Completely devastated. I'm going to go jump off a cliff any second. Do you care to join me in my noble quest?" His voice took a teasing note, delighted by how Shinya's eyes were widening. "Or would you rather watch as I plunge to my death?"

The indignant croak Shinya gave almost sounded like that of a duck, making Atsushi grin. Teasing the other man was brilliant; somehow it always lightened his mood. So maybe Shinya having no tact wasn't so bad after all.

"Not nice, Atsushi!" Shinya pouted, before making himself comfortable on the ground next to him. "Yoshirou taught me how to belch the alphabet today."

Now it was Atsushi's turn to grimace when the other man began doing just that.

"Shinya, gross."

Determined to ignore the distinct, and – even worse - _loud_ sound of belching next to him, Atsushi let his gaze wander over the camp, regarding the others.

Takuya, sitting by the fire, silently pouting to himself. He did that a lot lately, especially when Yoshirou caught him stalking Catherine again. The man would have so much less of a problem if he just admitted he wanted to ask her out, instead of sneaking away and generally behaving like a creep around that woman. In fact, Atsushi was surprised he hadn't been arrested yet, stalking women had to be illegal in _some_ way. Then again, getting caught by Yoshirou had to be worse than getting caught by a sheriff. Their boss had a temper far worse than any of theirs, and if Takuya had been skipping duties again… Atsushi winced. Getting yelled at by him was never much fun. Except for those who got to watch.

Really, Takuya didn't have a chance with Catherine anyway.

Yoshirou and Ichirou, sitting together, like always lately. Maybe even sitting _too_ close together. Oh, Atsushi could just imagine that. Their boss hadn't even retaliated when the younger man had stopped him from giving a lecture about sticking to their duties earlier. It was so obvious that Yoshirou was smitten to anyone but him, which made the whole thing even more amusing.

Atsushi snickered silently, which earned him an elbow into his side from Shinya for not paying attention. Maybe he should mess with those two a little, until they actually admitted to it. That would certainly be entertaining.

And then there was Yuuta. Yuuta was still somewhat of an enigma to Atsushi. Sure Hajime had picked him up, had trained him, trusted him even, which was rare for his spies. Maybe he and Hajime were the same as Yoshirou and Ichirou, or maybe they weren't. But if they were, Atsushi did not understand why Hajime always told Yuuta to leave with him, almost like he didn't _want_ the man to stay close to him. Neither did he understand when he needed Yuuta to babysit him. Just because Hajime had found evidence that his brother might have been taken in by Indians it did not mean he was going to invade every reservation in the nearer surroundings single-handedly until he found who he was looking for. Atsushi wasn't stupid.

Although he did sort of feel the urge to do just that.

"Did you know you can even belch words backwards?"

Atsushi groaned. Maybe a suicide mission to the natives wasn't that bad of an idea.

---

Life as a cowboy was hard, Yoshirou thought yet again, for what felt like the tenth time today. Especially if it wasn't just the cattle you had to herd, but your men as well. Atsushi ran off whenever he liked, Takuya was too busy stalking that woman to really care for his duties, Shinya was loud enough to make him _want_ the other man to leave, and Ichirou was, apparently, sly enough to manipulate him right into whatever the younger man wanted Yoshirou to do.

But at least, he figured, he could depend on them when he needed to, and that was what counted.

Life might be hard, but they had their freedom, and Yoshirou would never want to trade that for anything else.


End file.
